A wide range of fly-fishing reels are known which exhibit different braking mechanisms for the line-containing spool, which mechanisms allow adjustment of the resistance said spool is to overcome in order to rotate in a certain sense and thence the strength a fish will exert in order to withdraw said line from the reel.
In many cases, such braking mechanisms act compressing or flattening, by a rotary knob, overlapping discs of different materials, thus creating a static and dynamic resistance to an element performing as a brake or resistance generating element, and which transfers said resistance through several gear or transmission systems to a spool or spool-support which rotates on an axis. In all cases the spool or spool-support axis is perpendicular to the faces of the brake discs and in some cases it is displaced from the axis of said brake discs.
The main problem posted by these fly-fishing reels is that braking mechanisms have a limited adjustment capacity, due to the reduced dimensions of the friction surfaces of said brake discs, which are within the reel, and also, due to the limited force that may be exerted from an external knob.
In other fly-fishing reels, the brake discs and rotary knobs have been replaced by an oil container which modifies density thereof as a function of the rotation speed of the spool or spool support by the action of mixing blades located inside said container and connected to the rotation axis of said spool, thus achieving a self-adjustable braking. The main drawback thereof is that user is not able to adjust at will the braking resistance because, as already discussed, it is automatically adjusted. Another problem is that the braking maximum force is low.
An additional drawback is that on known fly-fishing reels, spools or spool supports are always mounted on an axis which is attached by one of its ends to the reel structure. This structure is in turn firmly coupled to the rod by an adequate coupler. When a fish pulls the line, tangential forces are produced which actuate on the spool or spool support axis exerting a lever action on the attachment point thereof to the reel structure, which fact may lead sometimes to the breakage or disarrangement thereof.